INSIGHTS ON BUSINESS AND LIFE FROM FIVE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS, SPEAKER HALL OF FAME RECIPIENTS, INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED BUSINESS CONSULTANTS AND BEST BUDDIES.

FROM JOE CALLOWAY:

In my 30+ years of working with leaders of organizations of every description imaginable, I’ve discovered a couple of truths about leadership and employees.

One is that when a leader reaches the point where an employee needs to be fired, that leader will tell you that he or she knew it needed to be done a long time ago and wish the hard decision had been made much earlier. This is as much for the employee’s sake as for the organization’s. Keeping people in a place where they don’t fit isn’t doing them any favors.

Another truth I’ve learned is that a great way to evaluate your present employees is to apply this question to each one: If this person didn’t already work here, would I hire him or her today? If the answer is no, well, there’s clue for you that something’s out of whack and maybe a conversation is in order.

“Fixing” an employee can sometimes mean “fixing” the leader or manager. If you are being unclear about expectations, aren’t giving adequate support or resources, or have created a toxic culture – fix yourself and see what a difference it can make in your employees. For the “how to” – I’ll need another two hundred words. At least.

FROM MARK SANBORN:

You can’t fix an employee, but you might be able to fix his or her performance.

Common sense and a good policy manual will clarify the majority of situations when an employee should be fired, but there are times when you need to use judgement and intuition.

If an employee has been insubordinate deliberately and frequently, there’s little sense in trying to change or fix their performance.

Ask yourself these questions to determine if fixing is the best course of action:

Does the employee show remorse for poor performance?

Is he or she receptive to the fix—suggestions and coaching—you feel necessary to change?

Are they quick to implement the fix?

Are you seeing positive improvement and results that prove progress?

Firing is likely warranted when:

The employee shows lack of concern for mistakes or poor performance.

They resist or resent feedback and suggestions.

They pay lip service to changing but don’t demonstrate it.

The conversation around the problem occurs more than once (or worse, repeatedly).

Don’t fire out of anger, and think carefully about the consequences to￼your organization and the employee. At the same time realize that fixing isn’t always an option.

Mark Sanborn is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker bestselling author of books including, The Fred Factor. For more information and free resources, visit www.marksanborn.com.

FROM SCOTT MCKAIN:

You can coach people. You can help people. You might inspire or motivate people. You can’t fix people.

A desire to “fix” someone else is frequently rooted not in their problems, but in yours. It springs from the compulsion to make others conform to your standards, because you’re uncomfortable with things not being done the way that you choose.

As you might imagine, in the profession of business speaking and writing that the Five Friends share, we’re around others in our industry who have an almost genetic need to tell people how to do their jobs and live their lives. They perceive that “fixing” people will inspire their audience to admire and appreciate the one who gives advice. For some, it’s practically to the point of a sickness – a consistently sad, desperate attempt to receive approval from others. Instead, we end up resenting their efforts. Make sure your desire to “fix” an employee isn’t a “you” problem, instead of them.

In the real world, no one wants to be fixed. They want to be coached, helped, inspired, and motivated.

If you can’t lead them to that point – or if they choose not to participate – then, it’s time to fire them.

Scott McKain teaches how organizations and individual professionals can create distinction in their marketplace, and deliver the “Ultimate Customer Experience®.” For more information: www.ScottMcKain.com

FROM RANDY PENNINGTON:

The only time you immediately fire an employee is when they have done something so severe that they haven’t earned the right to a second chance. The HR people call these conduct infractions. They include things such as theft, serious safety violations, gross misconduct, or abusive language.

The rest of the time you help employees fix themselves. That means bringing the problem to their attention; providing clear expectations; giving them training and support if appropriate; and then holding them accountable for meeting your expectations. These situations include chronic attendance and job performance problems. But, they also include times when the person just doesn’t fit with your culture.

The most difficult person you will ever fire is the hard worker who can no longer do the job. You should do everything in your power to help this person – maybe even carrying them for a while. But if all else fails, you have to take action.

Firing someone should not be taken lightly or done illegally. The replacement costs range from 2 to 12 months of salary depending on the sophistication level of the job. But, firing someone can be the best solution for removing toxic waste that prevents excellent performance.

Randy Pennington helps leaders deliver positive results in a world of accelerating change. To find out more, go to www.penningtongroup.com.

FROM LARRY WINGET:

By the time most managers get around to firing someone, it’s too late. You have to “fix” employees when the infraction happens the first time. You don’t let it slide until it grows into something unfixable, which is typically what happens. Bad habits are hard to break which means nothing should be tolerated/ignored long enough for it to become a bad habit. But that requires that the manager have true dedication to the company, the culture, the customer, the employee and the other workers. It requires involvement and awareness and a willingness to get their hands dirty early and often.

Most employee issues can be fixed when detected and addressed early. And too many potentially great employees are wasted when the issue isn’t addressed and corrected early.

If this sounds a lot like shutting the barn door after the horse is out, it is. If management hasn’t done their job with good training, clear expectations and constant reinforcement, then the options are few and the employee usually must be fired.

If the employee is a long-time employee and messes up, spend the time to figure out what the issue is. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with old-fashioned two-way conversation.

Larry Winget, the Pitbull of Personal Development®, is a six-time NYT/WSJ bestselling author, social commentator and appears regularly on many national television news shows. To find out more, go to www.LarryWinget.com.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/employees-fix-them-or-fire-them/feed/0How you describe what your team does…impacts what your team does…http://createdistinction.com/how-you-describe-what-your-team-does-impacts-what-your-team-does/
http://createdistinction.com/how-you-describe-what-your-team-does-impacts-what-your-team-does/#respondMon, 27 Jul 2015 14:25:04 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5880Today’s business insight comes from George “The Animal” Steele.

(That may be the most unlikely sentence I’ve ever written in my blogging history.)

I’m driving on the Interstate last night, flipping channels on Sirius/XM. On one of the sports channels, there was a discussion about WWE’s termination of Hulk Hogan over profoundly offensive comments that he made regarding race. As I’m listening to this show I’ve stumbled upon, the hosts took a call — it seems Steele was also in the audience, and wanted add his two cents to the conversation.

I’d heard his name, but I was not familiar with the career of the wrestler. As I discovered when I looked him up, not only did he have a long career in the ring, he also played a role in the Tim Burton film, “Ed Wood,” with Johnny Depp.

Steele said that what Hogan had said was simply a result of a change in the culture of the locker room over the years in wrestling. And, he said, he could boil it all down to two words.

Obviously, the outcomes of wrestling matches are scripted in advance. Therefore, part of the job of the wrestler selected to lose the match is to make the victor look as good as possible. This is called, as Steele explained, taking your opponent and “putting him over” in the match.

The problem, Steele explained, was that over the years the term used to describe the match’s loser changed — and not for the best.

In the early days of his career, Steele said the wrestler putting the winner over was called, “the constructor.”

The reason was that if he did a good job making the winner look good, he was helping that wrestler build (construct) a better career.

Therefore, there was a great camaraderie in the locker room — those who were constructors were treated respectfully by the others, because it built the culture that all wrestlers were there to help and support one another.

Then, he said, something changed. The terminology for the loser in the matches became “jobber.” As in, “You go out there and do your job — make the other guy look good.”

Now, putting the other wrestler over wasn’t helping construct a career — it was just doing your job for someone else who was perceived as your superior.

What do you supposed happened? How would this simple change impact how the way that the constructor/jobber felt about his job? How would the winner of the match feel about the other participant as a “jobber” versus a “constructor.”

Steele’s point was that he felt — within the wrestling locker room — that the total respect for your colleague kept racism out. When the terminology changed, the respect declined, and Hogan’s comments were emblematic of that change in attitude.

I found that fascinating. Sure, it’s easy to say it’s just semantics. And, I’m not suggesting that it’s a silver bullet that explains everything with a solitary answer that’s a panacea to the problem.

However, Steele’s insight started me to thinking about the difference between “employees” and “team members” or “associates.”

I recalled a flight attendant talking about a merger many years ago, and how surprised she was at what the bigger airline called their customers: “grunts.” They called them that because of how the passenger would grunt when putting their luggage in the overhead. She said at her airline — the one that had been acquired — they called them “paychecks.” What do you suppose happened to the airline that changed customers from “paychecks” to “grunts”?

Hint: they’re not flying anymore.

Undoubtably, you’ve got a lot to do this week.

However, taking a moment to examine your terminology and what you call your colleagues and customers — and reflecting on its impact on your corporate culture — would be a very valuable way to spend a bit of your time.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/how-you-describe-what-your-team-does-impacts-what-your-team-does/feed/0What your business can learn from ESPN’s fiasco over Colin Cowherd…http://createdistinction.com/what-your-business-can-learn-from-espns-fiasco-over-colin-cowherd/
http://createdistinction.com/what-your-business-can-learn-from-espns-fiasco-over-colin-cowherd/#respondSat, 25 Jul 2015 05:01:24 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5874Why is Lionel Messi not the most recognized and lauded athlete in America?

There are, perhaps, many reasons — however, there’s one that’s pretty important from a marketing standpoint.

English isn’t his first language.

In other words, it’s easier to promote LeBron James or Andrew Luck because they speak in a manner that the target audience of their potential customers can easily comprehend.

In essence, that’s all that Colin Cowherd was saying when he said that baseball was eroding in popularity because of the rise of the players from the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries, for whom English is a second language — if they’ve learned it at all.

That is NOT a slam on those players — or to the terrific countries from which they hail. (The DR is a place where I have been booked to speak on several occasions — and which has welcoming and wonderful people!)

However, because of those comments, Cowherd was castigated and terminated from his contract early by the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports,” ESPN.

Full disclosure — I’m a fan of Colin, and I’m appreciative that he calls me a friend. I have closer friends that I deeply care for…who remain employed at ESPN. However — what the management at ESPN did to Colin is so petty and bush league, it is a teaching moment for every business leader of what NOT to do!

ESPN terminated Cowherd’s contract early. “Colin Cowherd’s comments over the past two days do not reflect the values of ESPN or our employees,” ESPN said in a statement. “Colin will no longer appear on ESPN.”

They threw him under the bus in an attempt to damage him before he moved on to greener pastures.

Cowherd is right. 10% of players in MLB are from the DR. There are many Latin players from other countries. There is a language barrier that exists in baseball that does not in, for example, the NFL.

Here’s where I have the most significant problem: Colin Cowherd’s popularity is, in part, because he makes controversial and thought-provoking statements.

The management at ESPN has obviously encouraged that over his tenure at the network.

Now that he’s about to leave…they’re throwing him under the proverbial bus — ONLY because he’s leaving their employment, even though he’s been appreciative and respectful to EPSN on the air in his final shows.

What does this mean to your business?

If I’m an ESPN employee — I have to wonder, if the company has so little loyalty or grace regarding someone who has made them millions of dollars during his employment — why would I ever trust them when they make assurances to me?

When management can’t be trusted, the culture of the organization becomes so damaged that it collapses under the weight of the petty decisions that have been made.

ESPN could’ve just made an apology — thanked Colin for his years of service — and upheld his great contributions to the network. (Even that is really not necessary, because…his viewpoint was correct!)

However, by being petty…ESPN management not only has eroded the perception of their professionalism in the public eye — they’ve undoubtably created a sense of skepticism and concern among the very team members they need in order to succeed in the future.

Again: what does this mean to your business?

Don’t be ESPN management here.

Don’t be petty and vindictive.

Be bigger than the moment — or else by attempting to irritate a former employee, you poison the well with your current team.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/what-your-business-can-learn-from-espns-fiasco-over-colin-cowherd/feed/0Four ironies of business success…http://createdistinction.com/four-ironies-of-business-success/
http://createdistinction.com/four-ironies-of-business-success/#respondWed, 22 Jul 2015 14:25:35 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5864Here’s an important point to make about distinction – you aren’t going to obliterate your competition just because you create distinction.

As great as Apple has been…Microsoft, Google, HP, and many others are still around and operating profitably.

What Apple has done – and you can do – is to separate yourself from the pack.

Your goal should be achieving the highest level of business success. In the book, Create Distinction, I write about:

Level One: Sameness — there’s no discernible difference between you and the competition and customer decisions are primarily based upon price

Level Two: Differentiation — customers perceive a difference between you and the pack of competitors at Level One that may (or may not) be important enough to drive them to do business with you; and,

Level Three: Distinction – which means that you are attracting customers to do business with you because you are connecting with them in a manner they find remarkable and compelling.

It should be obvious that you cannot achieve that level if you are focusing internally.

In other words, if you’re more concerned about product and sales than relationships and service, you’ll be trapped in the middle with every other organization that has similarly limited thinking.

There are (at least) four great ironies in business.

Those organizations and professionals who focus on customers and their experiences tend to make more money than those who focus on making money. To cite the overused examples…there’s a reason that Apple makes more than Dell…Southwest has earned more than United.

You don’t win in business by beating the competition. You succeed in business because the connections you have with your customers are so distinctive and appealing they attract more customers. To win, don’t focus on winning…focus on connecting.

Businesses talk about “growth” as though acquisition is the only aspect required, but the foundation of growth is keeping what you already possess. True growth comes from the combination of acquisition…and retention. If you’d plan a retention strategy with as much passion and precision as you work on acquisition, you would dramatically increase the likelihood that you will achieve the growth you desire.

Making the competition irrelevant doesn’t happen by focusing on the competition. While, as mentioned earlier, you aren’t going to eliminate the competitors…you can erode their relevancy. That only happens, however, when you are so distinctive that it makes little sense for customers and prospects to even consider other alternatives.

Understand those four ironies…build your business to Level Three…and you will rise above the competition.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/four-ironies-of-business-success/feed/0Why a speaker shouldn’t “speak from the heart” — and a professional shouldn’t focus on passion…http://createdistinction.com/why-a-speaker-shouldnt-speak-from-the-heart-and-a-professional-shouldnt-focus-on-passion/
http://createdistinction.com/why-a-speaker-shouldnt-speak-from-the-heart-and-a-professional-shouldnt-focus-on-passion/#respondSat, 11 Jul 2015 04:55:58 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5851As another annual meeting of the National Speakers Association approaches, I’m reminded that this will be my thirty-second consecutive NSA convention. (I joined when I was nine. Or, would you believe, fifteen?)

While my busy speaking calendar prevents me from attending the entire event, it’s a time to recall one of the two best pieces of advice I ever received in professional speaking:

“Do NOT speak from the heart.”

Several years ago through NSA, I was connected with speech coach Ron Arden. While my career was progressing nicely and growing rapidly – I had already attained the coveted designation as a “Certified Speaking Professional” – I felt like I was ready to take it to the “next level.” Therefore, the help of a coach would be important.

Ron was the “coach’s coach.” The big names paid big bucks for his assistance. He had touched the lives and careers of heavyweights in the field like Brian Tracy, Ken Blanchard, and many more.

Arriving at Ron’s San Diego home, I was nervous – he had requested, and I had provided, several full-length speeches on video tape. I knew he had thoroughly reviewed my material, and that I was going to be receiving a significant amount of feedback.

Warmly welcoming me as I entered, he then hit me between the eyes with a question to burst my bubble:

“So, Scott…are we here to tweak and enable you to become a good speaker…or, do you have something more significant in mind?”

“Uh,” I stammered, “you don’t think I’m a good speaker?”

“You’re good enough for now,” he replied. “You have lots of enthusiasm – which is great in your 30’s, as you are today. It will be OK in your 40’s. By the time you reach your 60’s, your level of volume, pacing, and enthusiasm will become really sad.”

“Well,” I said, “I want to be the best speaker that I can be – and one of the best, if not THE best, in the industry. That’s my goal.”

He sighed loudly. “I was afraid you’d say that. It means we have LOTS of work to do.”

Looking back, I know with total certainty that he was exactly right.

Later that day he asked me the critical question, “Scott – what is the basis of your speaking? From what point does your program originate?”

I was ready with the answer: “Oh, Ron! I am sincere…I am no phony – I always speak from the HEART.”

Ron Arden rolled his eyes and said under his breath, “Good Lord, not another one.”

Aghast, I demanded an answer, “What is wrong with speaking from your heart?”

“You know something about film, Scott. Think of the most powerful, emotional moment you’ve ever seen an actor portray in a movie. Do you think that was a first take? You’ve seen Broadway plays – do you think the actor always has the same emotional composure and deportment every performance? Yet, they have to deliver the monologue to the audience exactly as they did on opening night. Where is that coming from? The heart?”

“Have you,” he continued, “ever given a speech when you had the flu…feeling under the weather?” “Of course,” I said.

“So, did you speak from the heart? Get up and tell the group that you were nauseous? Tell them – from the heart – you couldn’t wait to get back to your hotel room and go to bed?” “Of course not,” was my terse reply.

“Here’s the critical point,” he said with words that changed my life and career:

“That means that even when your heart is heavy, you can make the audience laugh. Or, when your heart is light, you can make the audience cry. When you are a master at the skills of your profession, you can create the results you desire, regardless of whether you’ve had a good day today – or a bad day. Because, either way, it’s not the audience’s fault what kind of day you’re having.”

“Wring out your heart as you write your content. Pour out every fiber of yourself as you prepare what you are going to say. Then, when you stand in front of the crowd, let the words you’ve written be from the heart – but do not make your performance dependent upon how your heart feels at that random moment.”

“The audience deserves your SKILL…not whatever condition your heart may be in at that particular juncture. And, they deserve the most skillful presenter that you can become.”

When speakers (or just about any other professional) fail, it is very seldom because they didn’t put enough “heart” into their presentation.

It’s because they failed to develop the skill required to do their job in an extraordinary manner.

I’m fanatical about basketball. I will promise you, there’s no one in the NBA more passionate about the game than I am. I love the game with all my heart.

So why am I not an NBA player?

Because performance at that standing isn’t just about playing from the heart.

It’s about having the skill to deliver at such a rarified level.

I’m not playing in the league because I’m not good enough from a skill level to do so. (No matter how passionately I love the game from my heart.)

The hard – and critical – lesson I learned is that most people fail NOT because they aren’t passionate enough about what they do…it’s because they haven’t become skillful enough to create distinction in the marketplace.

It’s one of the two greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever received about my profession. I wish more speakers knew it…more sales professionals delivered it…more corporate leaders grasped it…and more people applied it.

Regardless of your business, it’s great advice:

Write (or choose, or plan, or create) from the heart…speak (or paint, or make a sales call, or prescribe medical advice, or whatever you do) from skill.

Distinction is crafted by people who innovate and create from the heart – then deliver what they’ve designed from richly developed skill.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/why-a-speaker-shouldnt-speak-from-the-heart-and-a-professional-shouldnt-focus-on-passion/feed/0Making “vanilla” distinctive is the great business opportunity…http://createdistinction.com/making-vanilla-distinctive-is-the-great-business-opportunity/
http://createdistinction.com/making-vanilla-distinctive-is-the-great-business-opportunity/#respondThu, 09 Jul 2015 12:02:45 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5844If you think about business seriously, you realize that some of the great opportunities of our time are found in creating distinction in fields that many would term as “boring” or “vanilla.”

Sure, perhaps it’s more glamourous to momentarily fascinate the marketplace with glitz and flash. More frequently, however, success is realized by taking something ordinary — and developing an approach that makes your organization stand out.

It’s an overused example, but Southwest took a business that was pretty miserable in terms service and performance – and created distinction by not only their humorous approach in the plane, but also by their consistent, reliable performance.

How frequently have you heard someone say, “I like Southwest – they don’t cancel flights and they get me there on time”? Pretty often, I’ll wager. Consider that point for a moment – you prefer them because of something boring: they did what they said they would do.

The point here is that creating distinction NEVER means you are focused on fluff or the fringes.

It means that you are so innovative and so solid at delivering what your customer REALLY wants that you stand out in your marketplace.

Southwest would’ve received attention for the humorous pre-flight safety announcements. However, distinction was created by the confluence of the fun…with on-time flights, almost never cancelling on customers, the simplicity of their reservation and seating arrangements, and more.

Many would say the F-150 is a boring vehicle compared to other options in the automotive market – yet, Ford has built them so well for so long it has been the best-selling automobile of any variety for most of the last 22 years.

Henry Luce was told in 1923 that a magazine about business would go broke quickly, because the subject was so boring. He started Fortune anyway.

Water is pretty boring – yet, Evian and others are doing pretty well at selling you an unexciting product that you can access for free.

There are some who would encourage you to envision ice cream as the metaphor for your business and that you should be pistachio, for example — and not vanilla — in order to stand out in the marketplace.

That analogy misses a critical point: vanilla ice cream sales count for almost 25% of the marketplace; more – by far – than any other flavor. I’d rather be distinctive at vanilla than any other variety.

From Larry Winget:

A 10%, across the board, cut on ALL government spending. Everyone and everything in government bites the bullet equally with no playing favorites. There is plenty of waste in government and 10% is a great starting place.

Incentivize businesses to grow, hire, create and manufacture. You can fix a whole lot that is wrong with our country by putting more people back to work. Cut taxes, re-align healthcare and get off the backs of small business.

Immigration: A path to citizenship for those already here and who wish to do the work be here legally and pay taxes. And all companies pay taxes on ALL employees. No under the table BS anymore.

Stop paying congress forever and cut lifetime benefits. Plus, they live by the same laws we do. And they must vote on everything put before congress without exception.

Their only job is to vote,￼ so vote or get fired. All votes will be posted online for everyone to see. Complete transparency.

Term limits. Two terms maximum for everyone, and then you go back to work. No more lifetime politicians.

Entitlements must be addressed. We cannot sustain the increasing dependency on government. Period.

Larry Winget, the Pitbull of Personal Development®, is a six-time NYT/WSJ bestselling author, social commentator and appears regularly on many national television news shows. To find out more, go to www.LarryWinget.com.

From Joe Calloway:

What matters, of course, is the “how to.” 200 words isn’t much “how to” space – but here are my priorities:

Jobs & Economy. Jobs reduce crime, raise the standard of living for all, make people healthier, and generate tax revenue for progress. There are 4.5 million open jobs in America today. GOOD jobs. We have to train our workforce so that we can fill them.

Education and training. Incentivize improved performance in schools across the boards in K-12 and support industrial training and community colleges.

Healthcare. There is no reason, beyond purely partisan idiocy, that we cannot have a world-class healthcare system available to all of our citizens.

Infrastructure. We’re falling apart.

National Security. Stay out of world situations that is none of our business and pose no threat – BUT – when people are oppressed, it IS our business to give them help to the extent possible. If you think it’s not – don’t vote for me. I hate bullies.

Protection of our rights. We are all as free as the one person whose constitutional rights are violated. Congress enacts, the President enforces, the Supreme Court determines constitutionality.

From Mark Sanborn:

My platform agenda emphasizes education, healthcare and the economy. Improvements in any one improve the other two.

If you get education, healthcare and the economy right, most of the other issues will take care of themselves.

Education has the ability to raise the standard of living for everyone, most importantly those who haven’t benefited from the opportunities of good education in the past.

Healthcare should be readily available to all and fairly priced. The current system does provide more healthcare to those who weren’t covered in the past but in many cases by penalizing those who have seen their premiums go up and their coverage go down.

A strong economy is built on enterprise, not entitlement. We should help those who cannot help themselves, not those who will not help themselves. But that isn’t enough. Government should oversee but not burden wealth creators, entrepreneurs and businesses.

One big challenge for our economy is our current system of taxation. It is convoluted and often a disincentive to enterprise. It needs drastic revision.

Educated, healthy citizens build a strong economy while building a meaningful life, and a strong economy makes us a strong nation in the world.

Mark Sanborn is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker bestselling author of books including, The Fred Factor. For more information and free resources, visit www.marksanborn.com.

From Scott McKain:

I would become the “Education President” – because, if you didn’t get your education, you aren’t going to like me.

In 2013, about 7% of high school students dropped out. For every 1,000,000 students there are SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND who enter the workforce without even a high school diploma.

How will we stay competitive and expand opportunities in America with so many who are uneducated? I’m not certain that we can. And, with the way retirement and health care programs are funded, we must have a workforce that can produce now and in the future.

Here’s the deal – as Ross Perot used to stay: Drop out of high school, go directly into national service. Military, Peace Corps, or some residential vocational training program – you aren’t going to quit school and sit in the house. You remain until age 22 – the time you would be graduating from college. You can forget your driver’s license, too – you’ll be living in the barracks.

Finally – I respect “free speech.” But, if you drop out of school, you don’t get to complain about “income inequality” in twenty years because a classmate busted her butt to become an engineer or doctor and is making multiples of your paycheck.

Scott McKain teaches how organizations and individual professionals can create distinction in their marketplace, and deliver the “Ultimate Customer Experience ®.” For more information: www.ScottMcKain.com.

From Randy Pennington:

Most of my priorities align with others you have read here and for basically the same reasons. The majority of our problems will take care of themselves when we fix education, the economy, infrastructure; healthcare; and defense. Additionally, I would …

Govern from the middle. Gridlock is not the goal. It’s time for the President to focus on what’s possible rather than what’s political.

Fix immigration. Keeping criminals out and taking swift action with those who break our laws is the minimum. We must also repair the lousy process for legally entering the country. Good people wait in line for years while violators jump ahead. We need a process that doesn’t penalize those who want to play by the rules and contribute to our society and economy.

Make the government work. The President’s focus is often captured by unplanned crisis. Most citizens, however, interact with the government through routine services. Flawless execution in areas that touch people every day is the right thing to do, and it saves money.

Immediately enlist the other members of the Five Friends to help. There is too much to do to risk not having people you trust to be on the team.

￼Randy Pennington helps leaders deliver positive results in a world of accelerating change and disruption. He is an award-winning author, speaker, and consultant. To find out more, go to www.penningtongroup.com.

INSIGHTS ON BUSINESS AND LIFE FROM FIVE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS, SPEAKER HALL OF FAME RECIPIENTS, INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED BUSINESS CONSULTANTS AND BEST BUDDIES.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/five-friends-if-i-were-president/feed/0It’s time to disrupt “disruption”…http://createdistinction.com/its-time-to-disrupt-disruption/
http://createdistinction.com/its-time-to-disrupt-disruption/#respondFri, 03 Jul 2015 12:35:41 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5828If there is a word in today’s vernacular that is speeding toward the boundary at the junction between trite and meaningless…it’s that flavor-of-the-times business term, “disruption.”

It’s the latest in the “excellence,” “good to great,” “management by walking around,” “one minute manager,” “think outside the box” pantheon of business guru greatest hits. Some of those touting “disruption” now are probably the same ones who were giving “Y2K” speeches fifteen years ago.

Believe it or not, it has been suggested to me by a couple of speakers bureaus that I need a “disruption keynote,” because it’s such a hot topic it could get me more bookings.

I decline, respectfully, for three critical reasons:

Disruption is typically not created by the desire to disrupt. Its genesis is found in the desire to create distinction.

Disruption attempted simply for the sake of blowing things up doesn’t always lead to positive outcomes in the long run.

Only from creating distinction – particularly in areas of intense customer dissatisfaction – does anything truly rise to the level of legitimate disruption.

When you examine the success of true disruptors – let’s use Apple’s iPhone and Uber as a couple of examples – you find their foundation is based in the aspects outlined earlier. They intensely focused upon areas of significant customer dissatisfaction.

As Steve Jobs frequently said, “The reason we had to do the iPhone is that we all hated our mobile devices.”

How many customers are in love with either a private car service or taxicab provider (“Taxi Terry” not withstanding) that they may use? Few, I’d wager.

Which means that most of us need to be focusing upon the areas within our organization where customers aren’t thrilled with the experience of doing business with us. It’s the single best vaccine against disruption.

Our vulnerability to disruption springs from our inability to create distinction in the customer experience.

Nordstrom doesn’t need to disrupt shopping. Instead, it needs to redouble its amazing efforts in the customer experience.

Motel 6 disrupted the seedy, locally owned motel by providing a better experience for budget travelers – not by blowing up the motel model.

What about Airbnb, you say?

Obviously, the hotel industry failed to perceive that there was a large marketplace out there that would prefer an alternative experience to what Marriott and Hilton were providing. If the majors had their ears to the ground for what was really happening in the marketplace – rather than working harder on the old plan – there would have been no need for Airbnb in the industry.

Isn’t it amazing that Folgers or Chase & Sanborn didn’t come up with the Starbucks concept?

Why couldn’t Nokia or Motorola develop the iPhone instead of Apple when they were working in mobile devices 24/7?

There are many answers…the “echo chamber” of business, that “working harder on the old plan” approach, and more…but here’s the primary one, it seems to me:

Just as “good is the enemy of great” – “great is the enemy of distinctive.”

You can make great coffee, hotels, and more – and still get blown away by a distinctive alternative.

We’ll examine this more in future blogs – but, consider this:

Is your goal to work harder on the old plan until your execution is great?

Or, is it to come up with an innovative approach to your plan that will create distinction for you in the marketplace?

INSIGHTS ON BUSINESS AND LIFE FROM FIVE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS, SPEAKER HALL OF FAME RECIPIENTS, INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED BUSINESS CONSULTANTS AND BEST BUDDIES.

From Scott McKain:

My buddy, former Vietnam POW Charlie Plumb, called me last week. “Since you’re in town, why don’t you come over for dinner? My friend Dick, you and I can grab something.” Sounded like a plan!

Imagine my surprise to arrive at Charlie’s house to discover his friend is Dick Rutan – the aviation legend who flew around the world, non-stop, without refueling. His plane hangs in the Smithsonian.

“Did you enjoy the feat while it was happening?” I asked.

“I was afraid every moment – I honestly thought I was going to die,” he responded.
“If you were convinced you were going to be killed…why did you forge ahead?”

He replied, “As a leader, for me to have to face those who followed and say, ‘I quit,’ was an option worse than death. I couldn’t stand to think for the rest of my life I would look in the mirror and shave the face of a leader who quit on his team.”

Unfortunately, a trend I see is “leader as celebrity.”

Many see the “rock star” corporate leader and desire that fame…but won’t consider the commitment associated with it.

Real leaders understand their enormous responsibility to their followers – just like Dick Rutan.

Scott McKain teaches how organizations and individual professionals can create distinction in their marketplace, and deliver the “Ultimate Customer Experience ®.” For more information: www.ScottMcKain.com.

From Randy Pennington:

Leadership hasn’t changed. It is and has always been about influencing people to do something because they want to do it.

Sorry. “Cutting edge” ideas like communicating the why; building trust; engagement, and building culture have existed forever.

King Solomon taught the importance of focus and understandingthe why: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Napoleon gave advice on building engagement: “A leader is a dealer in hope.”

The idea of treating people with respect isn’t new. Dwight Eisenhower said, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head— that’s assault, not leadership.”

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu taught that the best leaders walk beside those they serve. And, the early legends of American business—such as Harley Procter of Procter & Gamble, Thomas Watson of IBM, and James Cash Penney of JCPenney— believed that success ultimately depends on a strong culture.

Three things are changing: follower expectations for involvement and connection; the absence of a common set of values; and the complexities of operating in a 24-7, global marketplace. Leaders must be more intentional and creative than ever about fulfilling their responsibility. The “how” evolves, but the job of leadership never changes.

Randy Pennington helps leaders deliver positive results in a world of accelerating change and disruption. He is an award-winning author, speaker, and consultant. To find out more, go to www.penningtongroup.com.

From Larry Winget:

I am a political junkie. I watch everything about the declared and still-undeclared candidates. As I watch the responses to the overly-abundant crop of Presidential wannabes, it’s been interesting to see what resonates with people. Trump, Christie, Jeb, Walker, Perry, Rubio and Hillary are candidates that speak to what we are looking for or looking to avoid in our leaders. Boldness, straight-talk, same ol’ same ol’, unafraid, old school values, fresh new ideas, and trustworthiness are words being used to describe these candidates (same order btw). I believe the new trends in leadership are going to be based on this list of descriptions. Too bad that many of these words have gotten to the point of being called “new” and might create a leadership trend (which speaks volumes to how low we have sunk.)

All too often our leaders have none of these qualities or only a few. Too bad we can’t play Mr. Potato Head and create the perfect leader. Instead, we can only try to emulate these qualities in our own lives. Followers/employees/voters/constituents want a trustworthy, straight-talking, bold, unafraid leader with old-school values and fresh ideas. We want this from both our political and our business leaders.

Larry Winget, the Pitbull of Personal Development®, is a six-time NYT/WSJ bestselling author, social commentator and appears regularly on many national television news shows. To find out more, go to www.LarryWinget.com.

From Joe Calloway:

I saw continuing evidence of a trend in leadership this week with one of my clients. Joseph Choi is a new franchisee for Shelf Genie. As he built his business his strategy was to focus on one thing: culture. Joseph believed that if you build the right culture, that everything else will fall into place.

Shelf Genie executives say that Joseph’s business is off to a record start and they credit his success to the incredible culture he has built.

From large companies like Tractor Supply Company to smaller businesses like my buddy Marty Grunder’s landscaping company, the evidence is clear. If leaders create the right culture by design and with intention, success is sure. Without the right culture, it’s almost impossible to succeed.

What used to be considered the “soft stuff” is now being correctly recognized by effective business leaders as the “main stuff.”

“Engaging the hearts, minds, and hands of talent is the most sustainable source of competitive advantage.” – Greg Harris – Quantum Workplace

“No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission.” – Jack Welch

“To make customers happy, we have to make sure our employees are happy first.” – Zappos

From Mark Sanborn:

Warren Bennis said that…in 1999. He then went on to write more books and articles about leadership.

Leadership is not dead, but followership might be. The biggest change I see in leadership is how those we lead view themselves.

Increasingly many view the concept of a single leader skeptically. They know someone may be charged with leading— a department, project, process or organization—but they know things of complexity and magnitude take lots of leadership from many involved to achieve success.

So leaders shouldn’t think of those they lead as “followers” because those they lead don’t think or act that way. Especially among younger employers, “follower” seems too subservient, just as nobody in customer service wants to be thought of as a “sevant.” They consider themselves “contributors,” “team members” and “colleagues.”

Words matter and in this case reveal the leader’s orientation. As a formal leader, I prefer to lead a team of contributors where everyone knows their role and when it is appropriate for him or her to lead.

Leaders still need to lead, but the followers of old now need to do more than follow.

Mark Sanborn is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker bestselling author of books including, The Fred Factor. For more information and free resources, visit www.marksanborn.com.

]]>http://createdistinction.com/new-trends-in-leadership-five-friends/feed/0Here’s an example of how “Distinction” can work in YOUR business!http://createdistinction.com/heres-an-example-of-how-distinction-can-work-in-your-business/
http://createdistinction.com/heres-an-example-of-how-distinction-can-work-in-your-business/#respondMon, 22 Jun 2015 12:28:07 +0000http://createdistinction.com/?p=5810If I ask you to think of affluent communities, there are some names that come to mind. One that jumps to the top of my list is Carmel, California.

The entire Monterey Peninsula is nothing short of spectacular — and, in many locations in that region, it’s quite expensive and elite.

Now, imagine that you’re a custom home builder in the area.

Obviously, your product has to be spectacular for such a demanding clientele. And, given the high dollars involved, my guess is the competition is quite intense, as well.

In a buyer’s market like that…how do you separate yourself from your competitors?

Meet Joe Russo. He is what my long-time great friend Jeff Weimer calls “one of the truly elite builders on the Monterey Peninsula.”

Yet, consider what Joe recently wrote me:

“As a contractor in the Carmel/Pebble Beach area, we are always in competitive situations in which our competition is highly competent.

Just such a situation occurred a few weeks back on a Pebble Beach home.

All three bidders were:

close in price range

close in temperament

and vetted, quality home builders

(My note here: Isn’t that often the case in your business, as well? It’s seldom that your competition is a bunch of idiots — they are worthy opponents. Which, of course, means that it’s both tougher to stand out…AND critically important! OK, back to Joe’s message…)

As the meetings progressed to find the right contractor, it was clear to me that it was going to be a a toss up.

Around that time, I had watched your video interview on YouTube, and was motivated, to say the least!

What I did next was to do something distinctive — I created a Gantt chart on our construction software. All of the budget numbers were attached directly to a timeline of the project — and, if done correctly, would aid in the decision making process along the way in the construction.

(Another interruption from me: Notice that what Joe did wasn’t just about being “different.” He created something that was truly of value to the potential customer. Who wouldn’t want that if you were building a house — especially a multi-million dollar one like this project! If you want to create distinction, you have to provide something of unique value to your customer — just like Joe is doing here!)

Needless to say they were impressed with that! The potential buyers mentioned that the others had not thought of that….

We just got the call yesterday that we have won the job! Thanks again, Scott McKain!”

I’m hugely honored by Joe’s letter — but, HE did all the work!

Joe’s idea to create the timeline was brilliant. It provided something that was not only of value to the customer — but, also demonstrated that Joe was focused upon the successful creation of a beautiful home…not just closing the sale and getting the cash.

Because of that…he closed the sale and is getting the cash!

AND, his customer will enjoy the creation of a beautiful place to live in one of the most fabulous spots on earth.

Congratulations, Joe — not just on getting the deal…but also on being an extraordinary example of how to create distinction!

(And, maybe one day…I could have you build one for me like this one that you constructed! WOW!)

— by the way, BuildZoom.com gives Joe’s company this evaluation: “Russo Construction And Development Incorporated has a BuildZoom score of 107, which places them above 95% of 336,931 contractors in California.” THAT’S distinction!